Youth Ministry

A recent book from the USA, Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, is built on the observation most American young people who are engaged in religion are ‘luke-warm’ about it. They see God as wanting people to be good, nice and fair to each other, but God is not involved in their lives, except to help them serve problems. The author, Kenda Dean, argues that young people are reflecting the attitudes in their families and in their churches. She suggests that young people are not articulate and passionate about the Christian faith because they have not heard a high level of articulation or experienced a high level of passion in their homes or in their churches.

However, Dean does not take into account the research which indicates that young people do not simply copy what they hear and see. They develop it in their own way, to meet their needs and to fit into the picture they have of what life is all about – a picture which is described in the ‘midi-narrative’ of young people. Dean’s suggestions for youth ministry should be taken seriously. Certainly, the faith of parents and church can have a significant impact. It is important to ask if young people have opportunities to express faith, not just verbally but through engagement in projects and mission? Are there opportunities for learning and deepening their sense of what the Christian life is about? Are they engaged to contemplate the deep questions of life? One of the key questions for youth ministry is the extent to which we help young people to find answers … and the extent we focus on those processes which encourage the asking of questions.